Live Video's Central Role In The Changing Workforce

Whether it’s Skyping grandma, FaceTiming friends, or using the Periscope social media app, live two-way video is playing an increasingly central role in everyday lives – particularly among younger people. However, while many understand the benefits of live video, it is a communication tool that has yet to be fully embraced in the workplace.

BlueJeans Network commissioned a survey to uncover the current attitudes and trends surrounding live video usage. The goal was to determine how employees felt about adopting this form of communication at work, and how responsive organizations might be to changing their communication methods.

Live Video's Central Role In The Changing Workforce

1.
#love live video
Live video’s central role in the changing workplace
A screen star at work:

2.
Introduction
Whether it’s Skyping grandma, FaceTiming friends, or using the
Periscope social media app, live two-way video is playing an
increasingly central role in everyday lives – particularly among
younger people. However, while many understand the benefits
of live video, it is a communication tool that has yet to be fully
embraced in the workplace.
BlueJeans Network commissioned a survey to uncover the current
attitudes and trends surrounding live video usage. The goal was
to determine how employees felt about adopting this form of
communication at work, and how responsive organizations might
be to changing their communication methods.
Subjects from five geographical regions were surveyed. The research
reveals how the UK, France, Germany, the USA and Australia seem to
be leading the march on live video. Findings also show how people
think the application of live video could change key relationships, not
just on an organizational level, but also within communities and on a
more personal level.
A total of 5,000 employees, aged 18 and over, took part in the survey.
They were selected from a range of job roles and levels, representing
several industry sectors. The companies they work for range in size
from 100 to 1000+ employees, across the UK, France, Germany, the
USA and Australia.
Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends 02
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3.
55%*
Music Video
36%*
A ‘How to’ guide
to cooking / DIY /
other hobby
Video is part of everyday life
With the popularity of sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, and tools like
Skype and FaceTime, 85% of employees agree that video is now part of everyday life.
And they expect a lot more from video content than they did two years ago. Nearly three
quarters (73%) have higher expectations of information being readily available, while 72%
expect it to be highly relevant.
It should be no surprise that the most popular types of video content are linked to
entertainment and personal learning. Over the last 12 months, music videos topped the
viewing charts, with 55%, followed closely by film trailers at 49%. Over a third of
employees (36%) looked at ‘How to’ guides. Figure 1: Which of the following types of online video
content have you watched in the last 12 months?
49%*
Film trailers / reviews
*
Excludes Australia dataLive Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends 03
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4.
But it’s not just about watching. Over the past 12 months, one in four*
have posted video content online. And 29% of that content was
made up of corporate videos.
And don’t forget about communication. Employees told us they
use live video an average of four times a month to communicate
with friends and family, and three times a month for work-related
communication. As is often the way with new technology, those
under the age of 35 use live video the most.
Figure 2: Which of the following types of online
video content have you published or posted yourself
in the last 12 months?
29%
25%
25%
corporate / work
related video content
Product review /
demo on a shopping /
comparison site
A holiday resort
on a travel site
*
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Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends

5.
Attitudes towards live video
When asked to describe their attitude towards the concept of live video, over a third
said they were either a champion (9%) or an enthusiast (31%), with the majority being
in the generation Y and Z age groups. Just over a third (35%) described themselves
as more cautious ‘toe-dippers’, and 25% labeled themselves sceptics. Interestingly,
from a commercial perspective, companies with less than 1,000 employees have
more champions and enthusiasts (48%) than larger enterprises (31%).
Regionally, Germany has the least enthusiastic number of employees, with 71%
being either toe-dippers or skeptics – although 80% see a useful role for live video.
Hop over the border to France however, and you’ll be greeted by the largest number
of champions and enthusiasts (48%). That said, Germany’s everyday engagement with
video is actually on a par with the other regions. And more employees in Germany (41%)
than other regions say they intend to increase their live video usage, both personally
and at work, over the next 12 months.
Enthusiast – I use regularly and enjoy
the experience (31%)
Toe-dipper – I occasionally use and
can see the beneﬁts (35%)
Sceptic – I have not really used and
I am not yet convinced (25%)
Champion / cheerleader – I use regularly
and heartily recommend (9%)Enthusiast – I use regularly and enjoy
the experience (31%)
Toe-dipper – I occasionally use and
can see the beneﬁts (35%)
Sceptic – I have not really used and
I am not yet convinced (25%)
Champion / cheerleader – I use regularly
and heartily recommend (9%)
Figure 3: Which of the following best sums up
how you feel about live video / video calls?
Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends 05
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Organizations are slow to adapt
The research reveals that only one in seven organizations (15%) is “extremely
good” at providing communication tools that mirror those employees use in
their personal lives. The majority (52%) say their business is exploring new
tools. However, over a third state their company is currently slow to adopt
new communication trends. Regionally, compared with the UK, twice as
many German employees (52%) agree that their companies are not at all
able to support new ways of communicating. This must be a frustrating
situation, since 70% also believe that live video has the potential to
transform the way they communicate in the workplace.
In contrast, live video is a much more popular communication tool for personal
rather than business purposes. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of employees have used
it for personal communication, compared with 49% for work. This is not surprising,
given the perceived lack of business support for new communication trends, and
low proactivity in promoting live video as a communication tool in the workplace.
• 30% believe their organization is “proactive” in its approach
to live video at work.
• 47% state live video use is allowed but not actively promoted.
• 23% say their employer is dismissive of live video and it is not used at all.
• 64% believe their organization could make better use of
live video / video calls (particularly in the UK and Australia).
• 59% believe their organization could benefit from guidance
on how to get the most out of live video.
4%
6%
1%
2%
3%
4%
4%
6%
7%
9%
5%
6%
7%
10%
11%
13%
6%
9%
51%
36%
Less than once a year
Once a year
Once every 6 months
Once every 3 months
Once a month
Once a fortnight
Once a week
A few times a week
Every day
Never
Personally, to communicate with friends and family
For business / work purposes
Figure 4: Thinking speciﬁcally about live video such as Skype or
FaceTime, or video conferencing, approximately how often do you
use these kinds of applications to a) communicate with friends and
family and, b) for work purposes?
Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends 06
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Employees want more live video
Communicating effectively within a business can be a challenge.
Hours pass by as employees wade through email chains; concentration
can be lost while talking on the phone; and physical meetings take time
and space. That’s why nearly three quarters (73%) of employees agree
that live video has the potential to transform the way they communicate
in the workplace.
agree that live video will save
time spent in face-to-face
meetings in the next ﬁve years
Over a third of employees (37%) want to see live video used
more by their organization – over other communication methods
such as email (26%), instant messaging (26%) and phone calls (24%).
In fact, live video is seen as the answer to reducing email mountains
– over half believe it will reduce the volume of email traffic significantly
in the next five years.
Globally, 56% believe their organization’s current communications tools
need updating if they are to attract the next generation of employees.
Two thirds (64%) believe younger employees expect businesses to
have live video as a communications tool. Many (53%) feel that, given
the choice, they would prefer to work for a company that invested in
high quality live video collaboration.
68%
Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends 07
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07

8.
Why it’s good to go live
Employees recognize the benefits of communicating through live
video. Three quarters believe that successful businesses focus on
collaborative growth and shared experiences. Live video is seen as a
more enjoyable way of collaborating with colleagues, as well as a way
to enable different groups to be brought together more easily – 71% of
Australian employees, in particular, agreed with this.
 Benefits of using live video  Consequences of not adopting live video
Other benefits include the reduced need for travel, and faster and
more efficient meeting outcomes. The majority (78%*) also foresee
certain consequences for their organization, if they fail to embrace
live video in the next two years.
66%
Greater diversity
of business
teams
25%*
Failure
to innovate
25%*
Disconnected
management
teams
33%*
Continually
growing travel
expenses
33%*
Inefficient use
of resources
50%
Less traveling
38%
Increased
flexibility
41%
Increased ability
to work remotely
69%
Greater employee
retention
32%*
Slower decision
-making
*
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9.
The future of live video
So, what’s in store for the brave new world of live video? The potential
goes beyond simply replacing physical business meetings. Four out of
five (82%) employees see live video playing a useful role within their
organization over the next two years. Over a third (36%) believe it could
be used to deliver training to employees, while another third (32%) see it
as a tool for diagnosing or troubleshooting customer issues. Just under a
third (30%) think it would be useful in collaborating on new products or
developing services.
Although organizations currently seem to be slow to adopt live video,
over half of employees (55%*) believe all meeting rooms will be equipped
for video calls by 2020.
36%
32%
30%
26%
24%
Delivering training to employees
Diagnosing / troubleshooting customer issues
Collaboration on new product / service development
Building a stronger culture, with leaders seeing people not conversing via email
Enabling us to interview candidates / source talent remotely
23%
Pitching to customers / clients
22%
19%
1%
24%
Engaging potential partners / suppliers
Enabling international expansion
Supporting the image of our company as being innovative / cutting-edge
Other
17%
None of the above / we can't see any useful role for live video
20%
Attracting younger workers
Figure 5: In which of the following scenarios could you see live video
playing a useful role in your organization within the next two years?
Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends 09
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Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends

10.
Changing relationships
Over the next five years, live video could potentially change key
relationships within, and outside of, the business environment.
Three quarters believe the way bosses, employees, interviewers
and candidates communicate with each other could change. Outside
of work, employees also think that live video has the potential to
change communication relationships between teachers and pupils
(71%); doctors, hospitals and patients (67%), brands and consumers
(65%), and even between politicians and voters, parents and children,
and in the judicial system.
Bosses and employees
Interviewers and candidates
Teachers and pupils
Doctors, hospitals and patients
Brands and consumers
Politicians and voters
Judges, lawyers, defendants and witnesses
Parents and children
Churches and congregations
75%25% 50% 13%
26% 47% 15%
23% 47% 17%
21% 44% 20%
20% 44% 19%
16% 43% 25%
14% 42% 26%
14% 42% 28%
6% 26% 45%
12%
13%
13%
15%
17%
16%
18%
16%
24%
73%
70%
65%
64%
59%
56%
56%
32%
To some extent Not at all Don’t knowTo a great extent
Figure 6: To what extent will live video change how the following
communicate with each other over the next ﬁve years?
Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends 10
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11.
Loving video
The research shows that there is a genuine appetite for live video,
which is only set to increase. Employees see it as part of their daily,
personal lives but do not seem to be actively encouraged to use it in
the workplace, despite the obvious benefits available to organizations
as a whole.
Workers across the four regions surveyed are united when it comes
to wanting to use live video as a workplace tool. Although the
businesses dismissive towards live video are in the minority, a much
greater proportion of employers could be seen to be more proactive
and actually encourage the use of live video, as opposed to simply
allowing it to be used.
With companies on board, live video has the potential to transform
the workplace, increasing collaboration and efficiency, saving time,
and reducing costs to both individual employees and businesses as
a whole. The reluctance to embrace this new technology could be
addressed by providing organizations with thorough guidance on
how their business can best benefit and make use of live video.
Despite the apparent reticence among employers to support new
communication trends, employees generally seem positive in their
expectations of live video usage in the workplace, and most see
it as an inevitability rather than a mere possibility.
The BlueJeans Solution
BlueJeans is a cloud-based video conferencing service that is
frustration free, easy to use, and trusted by some of the biggest
brands on the planet.
To find out how your organization can reap the full benefits of
video conferencing, get in touch at www.bluejeans.com/contact
Live Video Usage: Current employee attitudes and trends 11
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